Textiles with surface design student, specialising in embroidery

Tag Archives: therepy

There is a lot of historical research on wellbeing within textiles, for example; an exhibition at the V&A displayed quilts that had been developed by soldiers injured in the war as a form of healing and therepy, suggesting that making these quilts was a process of recovery by being time consuming and a viable distraction.
Leslie Cole looked into the effect of stitch calming those within prisoner of war camp.
Daisy Sage is known for secretly stitching over 1000 names onto a bed sheet during the war, not with any purpose in mind, it was simply occupying her. The piece can be viewed now, and whist not necessarily aesthetically pleasing, its the ora around it and the history it symbolises.
Elizabeth fry ( the lady you see on a £5 note) understood the importance of the relationship between hand and mind, providing female convicts with sewing kits as a means to focus and occupy time, the modern day version of this is an organisation named fine cell work who offer prisoners in confinement sewing classes, which in turn had a relaxing calming effect.
To be able to see the effects on well being and happiness we need to be able to measure it. A report on happiness suggested that job security, a stable family life, and relationships make for a happier person!
As well as embroidery, knitting has shown positive effects on dementia paitents, as knitting is bilateral (using both sides on the brain). Hilary Jones, a behavioural scientist found 25 ways in which knitting can help dementia patients, a few of these consist of a confidance in participating in group activities, an increase in relaxation and a focus and purpose for each day. This leads to advantages in practice based research, learning through making.